The Plague
by Halo is bae
Summary: Mankind's greatest enemy. Not the Covenant, not the Insurrectionists. The real threat are the Diseases. A deadly disease has started in South Africa, one that has never been encountered before. The Symptoms seem like a regular virus until one of the deceased miraculously returns from death. Not in the way people expected a second coming. Please read and review it will get tense!
1. The Beginning Part I

**A/N: Alright guys I understand that this is a rather long first chapter but please stay with this story I promise you it will be amazing. Just because not a lot of the main characters of the game aren't in a story doesn't mean it's going to be bad. OC stories are seriously undermined. I really do hope you see that in my story. Enjoy **

The harsh sun rays bore down onto the unforgiving sands as a dry mid afternoon wind swept through the barren landscape. On a regular day not much activity would be found crossing these dry lands but today was no regular day. A single Falcon flew over the desert at a speed, which few pilots, would say a ridiculous speed for an aircraft that size to be hitting.

Sand spewed beneath the vehicle and flew into the air which started to slightly chafe the Falcons black paint job. Much to the disappointment of the pilot who muttered a quick curse at South Africa and its deserts. Knowing well why he was flying towards their objective his paint job was the last thing on his mind as he looked behind his seat at the only other occupant.

"2 minutes until landing Mr. Jenner". The pilot didn't hear a response which was normal but there was no grunt of confirmation. "Well alright then, all work and no play with this guy". The bird steered right and went over a large sand hill, catching sight of the town in question.

Cape Town. The second highest populated town in South Africa. Known for the richer men and woman that lived in the blazing hell of Africa. A highway was connected to the entrance of the city and yet again the pilot realized that on a regular day the highway would be jam packed, with cars racing from here to there. Unfortunately it was no regular day.

"Cape Town control tower this is Falcon Six-Delta-Niner requesting to land. Dr. Jenner is on board and is ready". Static was there answer at first and the pilots attention was momentarily taken off the large city. Several Warthogs drove across the empty highway each of them filled to the brim with Marines. They passed right through the entrance to the city. A large fence like gate slid back closed, blocking off the city.

"Six-Delta-Niner" A female voice with a British accent answered in a very strict tone. "You are cleared for landing. A security detail will meet you at the helipad". Then the line cut.

It didn't take long for the pilot to find his way. He followed the nav marker and found the right helipad, a big thanks in part to the 8 man security detail standing in formation next to the landing area. He gently set her down and quickly turned off the rotors.

He was about to get out but a firm hand kept the door sealed. "It would be better if you stayed in your chopper." A man dressed in a black HAZMAT suit was blocking his exit. He saw the hot exhale land on his window from the man's filtration system on his helmet. 'UNSC' printed boldly on his chest area. Without realizing the pilot took a look at the man's hands and glared at the fully loaded M395 Designated Marksman Rifle, safety off.

The pilot merely nodded and sat back down in silence. The rest of the squad walked up to the side of the Falcon and slid the door open. "Dr. Jenner" the same British female from the control tower stepped forward in her sealed suit.

A single person stepped out of the vehicle. Dressed in a sealed HAZMAT suit but this one was white and had a polarized visor. In the right hand was a black briefcase and the only thing on it were three letters. CDC.

"Take me to them" a mechanized voice spoke from the mysterious person. The security detail formed a circle around Dr. Jenner and walked towards the metal stairs that would lead them to ground level. They had landed in the more closely connected part of Cape Town it sort of resembled Manhattan in a way. Men and Woman walked through the streets going on with their lives except for one major change. All of them passing by wore masks that covered their mouths and noses.

Dr. Jenner looked around at the passing people, casting aside their mixture of confused glances and frightened faces. So far everything seemed fine but no full assessments could be made until all the variables are added into the equation. They walked for only a few minutes until the building of interest came into direct view.

A 4 story apartment was surrounded by a large bubble with UNSC Marines positioned on the outside. A green tent stood across the street protected by a squad of ODST's and a warthog with a MG on the back. That was the tent Dr. Jenner was promised and was glad the Admiral came through.

Walking to the entrance of the bubble the guards on duty didn't need to ask for any identification. They merely looked at the briefcase he was holding and nodded their heads in approval. "You can stay here" Dr. Jenner commented before walking through the second entrance. The security detail did as instructed and watched the Doctor get de-contaminated before entering the apartment building.

Walking at a steady pace the doctor started to assess the building. The walls were painted a rather dull brown, he noticed the leaky ceiling in most places of the building. There was mold clearly present in most corners of the hallways and trash littered the floor. Dr. Jenner's was genuinely shocked. Cape Town had a good economy, their hospitals were in the top ten in the world. It was surprising to see a building in such bad condition.

Reaching the last floor was when Dr. Jenner's forgot all about the poor condition the landlord left this apartment in. Nearly sprinting forward into the hallway he placed the briefcase onto the wall and examined the most amazing and terrifying thing he had ever seen. Laying down on a gurney was a bald African American male with an oxygen mask over his face. The only article of clothing he had on was his underwear and his body was sweating profusely. Taking a flashlight out of his pocket he opened the mans closed eyelids and shined his light into the pupils. At first everything seemed normal to him, then with a second glance and a once over with the flashlight he saw the man's eye ball had a slight green tint to it. Finally it was time to examine the biggest problem, the large bumps that were growing out of the skin. From where the skin starts and ends Dr. Jenner measured about 8 inches, a rather large lump. Also it appeared to have dead skin covering the end of it but it wasn't the man's skin, it was like he was growing new skin. There were approximately 4 lumps, all the same measurement covering the patient's body. Two covered his chest, one on his left arm and the last his right leg. Whatever disease this was it definitely had never been encountered before.

"Dr. Jenner" He looked to his left and saw an old white man covered in doctors scrubs with a mask over his face. The Doctor smiled at him and walked closer, "My name is Doctor Bridges. I'm from the World Health Organization". He put his hand out hoping for a handshake. Dr. Jenner's looked down at his hand for a few seconds and Dr. Bridges followed his gaze to his gloves. "You probably don't want to shake my hands after all" he said wiping the red and slightly green tinted blood off on his dirty scrubs.

"How many?"

Bridges sighed in grief upon hearing the question. "20 infected, 4 dead already".

"Symptoms?" Dr. Jenner's continued to examine the lumps on the patient's left arm. "Dilated pupils, Coughing blood and a temperature of about 110 degrees".

Dr. Jenner's looked incredulously at Dr. Bridges. 110 degrees should kill anyone almost immediately. Something in the blood must be helping the host of the disease live under the excruciating circumstances. "Is there any evidence of the disease being air borne?" was the most important question and Dr. Jenner's felt his stomach clench in nervousness as he waited for the answer. If it was truly air borne then they might have a pandemic if anyone else obtained the disease.

"So far no" Dr. Jenner's felt his stomach return to normal. "All of the infected were in direct contact with each other, sharing food and water. Hugging and kissing I believe the disease is only transmitted through bodily fluids."

"Do you know anything about these lumps?" he opened the briefcase and grabbed a syringe. Dr. Jenner examined the needle before putting back down. He reached for the release switch on the back of his helmet and un-sealed it. Jenner's wiped the sweat off of his forehead and ran his hand through his military buzzed hair, scratching an itchy spot at the back of his head. "I never really liked these helmets they give me" Jenner's commented.

Bridges was rather surprised at the man's appearance. His Auburn colored hair along with his prescription colored glasses that covered his gray colored eyes. The doctor felt nothing but a chill when the CDC Doctor looked at him with those eyes, it was like he was staring into his soul.

"No" Bridges stuttered out after coming out of his thoughts. "These lumps are absolutely beyond anything I have ever seen, as far as I can tell it's just another side effect to the high body temperature but I have no evidence to support my inquisitions". Jenner's stuck the needle into the patients arm, the non-lump part, and started to extract blood.

The mixture of green and red colored blood flowed into the tube making Jenner's think. Almost all bacteria, viruses or fungi on record had no effects that could change the color of a Human's blood. They were without a doubt dealing with a foreign disease, a disease not from this planet and probably not from this star system. Jenner's made a mental note to contact his friend on Sanghelios and exchange some notes.

"I have a tent set up outside that I will be using to conduct my research in" Jenner's placed the blood filled syringe back into the briefcase and locked it. "I would like your assistance in analyzing the blood".

Bridges looked around at the other patients, some of them were laying down on their beds, and others were sitting on the dirty floor with their backs propped up against the wall. "Doctor Bridges", he looked back at Dr. Jenner's to see him standing, briefcase in one hand and helmet in the other.

"I understand you do not want to leave them but we cannot help them unless you help me find something that can slow down their sickness or even possibly cure them". Bridges sighed, Jenner's was right. He didn't want to leave these poor people but two people are better than one, especially when both people's jobs are to stop the spread of diseases.

Bridges smiled, "Alright let's get down there". The two doctors took one last look at the patients and started their descent downwards. When they reached the third floor of the complex Dr. Jenner's reached into his pocket and started to fiddle with the only object in the world that could keep him calm. A small metal cross. Jenner's was never a Catholic man to begin with but oh man his parents could have passed as the most Catholic people in the universe. They sent Jenner's to religion classes, then there was Mass every day, followed by only being submitted to Catholic private schools. Don't get him wrong here, Jenner's was very thankful for his parents caring for him so much but religion was just something he believed in.

The cross he possessed was his mothers and when she passed away a few years ago, 'god rest her soul' Jenner's thought. She gave it to him on her deathbed and she told her that anywhere he went this cross would protect him from all evil. 'Complete malarkey' Jenner's thought at the time, but as time went on he could never part with it. He found solace in it, sometimes when life threw him a change up the cross was there to comfort him or even sometimes provide the solution.

He felt like an idiot for believing now that the cross would give him the answer to make the cure. This was reality, God couldn't just give him the answer to stop this disease, and he needed to work for it.

The two scientists were decontaminated and exited the apartment building only to be mobbed by multiple cameras and people asking questions. "Dr. Jenner! Audrey Bitoni from CNN, I need to ask you a few questions".

Jenner's and Bridges had to shield their eyes from the cameras that had flash and that only made both of them angry. "Lieutenant Chambers I want these reporters and everyone else out of here now, set up a half-a-Klick perimeter and keep them out". Bridges yelled out.

Obeying the orders, Chambers and the rest of the security detail moved away from their positions around the building and started to push the vast amounts of press backwards. To the surprise of Chambers and Dr. Bridges the press were actually pushing backwards against the Marines. Bridges ordered the ODST's from the tent to help out and push the line backwards.

Jenner's shook his head at the vulture press and started to admire his surroundings. Back when he first landed dozens of people were walking around on sidewalks but now it was empty, it looked like a ghost town. Except for one.

A single African American female stood in the middle of the street. She was wearing a dirty piece of white underwear with a matching bra on. Jenner's couldn't make out her face because her back was facing her, but something didn't feel right to him. "Those press are like hungry eagles".

Jenner's was snapped out of his trance and looked to the left of him to see Dr. Bridges and Lieutenant Chambers, sweat running down their faces from both the intense heat and from pushing back the press. Jenner's casted a glance behind him and saw no sign of the reporters anymore, the ODST's were now standing in their spot and the security detail that escorted him to the building were nowhere to be seen.

"I had the rest of the detail hold the reporters back" Chambers answered Jenner's question before he could ask it.

Jenner's nodded in approval and looked back at the street to see the woman still standing there. She didn't look normal either, the skin on her legs looked to be peeling off by just standing there and if he listened good enough he could hear her breathing from about 50 feet away. "Oh my god it's not possible".

Jenner's quickly looked at Bridges to see his face emitting complete shock. It was like someone seeing a ghost. "What do you know her? Is she one of the patients? Did she slip out after we left?" Jenner's started to walk forwards and scold the woman for getting out of the apartment. He felt pressure on his wrist and looked down to see Bridges holding his wrist tightly.

"That is Jaquelin" he swallowed the moisture in his throat and it kind of felt like his tongue was swallowed. "She died 30 minutes before you landed in Cape Town."

Jenner's looked at Bridges like he was the craziest man in the world, "That's impossible".

"I swear Dr. Jenner it is her. I buried her myself and I know what she is wearing is what I buried her in and the tattoo on her left leg of an angel." Jenner looked back at the woman, more specifically her left leg and just like that, an angel was tattooed rather sloppily on her left leg. Jenner's thought through every variable about how she was standing there despite what Dr. Bridges stated. Maybe he just didn't feel her pulse right and was still alive when he buried her. 'No that can't be it, he is a professional doctor he wouldn't get a pulse reading wrong'.

With no plan in mind Jenner's walked backwards and stood by Dr. Bridges side. "Jaquelin!" Jenner's shouted out.

At first nothing had happened. Jenner's felt the air get a little more humid then he would have liked and fixed the collar on his neck as he tried to get some moist air into his skin tight HAZMAT suit. After a minute Bridges could no longer take it and again screamed out, "Jaquelin!"

This time they definitely got results. Results that neither scientist wanted.

Jaquelin turned around slowly and that's when the two scientists got a good look at her. Five lumps covered her body. Two on her stomach, one on each leg and the last one on her left arm. Jenner's noticed that most of Jaquelin's skin was peeling off or already peeled off and replaced by a tinted green cover. Lastly he got a good look at her eyes, they were dead. No life was shown in them.

She started to walk forward slowly without saying a word. Both scientists and Lieutenant Chambers felt nervousness creep into their bodies as they watched the skin pile continue her slow trek forward. Then almost like a snap of the fingers Jaquelin emitted a shriek that forced the men to cover their ears and broke a few windows in neighboring houses.

It sprinted forward at an unbelievable speed. Lieutenant Chambers pushed both of the gawking scientists behind him as he raised his DMR. "Do not come any closer!" he yelled. Whatever the thing was it did not listen to Chambers warnings.

The Marine popped off two live rounds, both of them hitting it in the right knee. He tried to disable the woman but it didn't work at all. Jaquelin jumped in the air and had the air time of an Olympic before landing on top of Chambers, pinning him to the ground.

She chomped down onto Chambers neck, bypassing right through the suit and getting into the skin and sending blood everywhere. Chambers screamed out as the creature continued to bite into her and eat off pieces of his flesh. Two more shots popped off and hit her once in the shoulder and again in the back. She stopped biting the neck of Chambers and merely sat up, the Lieutenant stopped his thrashing, he was dead.

One of the ODST's fired yet again and this time three shots made contact with her chest. Jenner's and Bridges stood behind their ODST guards now and watched in complete shock at what had just occurred. What Jaquelin had done, if that was even still Jaquelin? What she had done to Lieutenant Chambers was animal like, almost like a hungry lion after capturing its Gazelle pray. Even now she was standing up, a piece of Chambers flesh still in her mouth. She was shot 7 times and still didn't seem as though she was affected by the wounds.

She shrieked again and started to sprint at the 4 ODST's expecting to rip into them too. She was not as fortunate this time. The 4 opened fire without mercy, their heavy DMR rounds pierced through the infected body of Jaquelin until she collapsed to the pavement, her green life juice spilling out.

"Stay where you are" Jenner's merely nodded at the ODST's squad leaders command. The 4 kept their guns trained on the creature on the floor and slowly circled around her, they needed to make sure she was down for the count this time. "Deangelo, check her".

One of the ODST's holstered his DMR and got down on one knee. He was about place his fingers on her throat but she jumped at him. A single shot rang out and nailed her directly in the forehead before she could sink her teeth into First Private Bill Deangelo. The corpse went back to the ground and stayed there for good.

"Clear".

Dr. Jenner and Dr. Bridges rushed forward towards Lieutenant Chambers and checked his vitals as well. He was gone. Both Doctors felt all of the air leave their lungs as they assessed the situation as best as they could. So to start a disease that no one on this planet had ever encountered before is giving people insane temperatures and lumps on their bodies. Then when the infected died of their symptoms they came back to life and…

Both Doctors looked at each other, "Where did you bury the other bodies". Bridges froze up at the question and found his ability to speak gone.

Jenner didn't need an answer he merely went into action. "Captain", the ODST squad leader stopped de briefing his squad mates and turned to face the Doctor. "Have two of your men place Lieutenant Chambers' body and Jaquelin's body in my tent. Lock them in separate rooms and have two other people come with me and Dr. Bridges to terminate other infected members."

"Yes Doctor". He turned and ordered the two ODST's to get the bodies, "Private Deangelo and I will come with you".

A screaming Woman cut the conversation short as the Doctors and ODST's ran for the source.

**(Scene Break)**

Another peaceful morning ruined by a beeping alarm. A rather large arm snaked its way out from under the comfortable blanket and slammed his fist down on the snooze button. Smiling when the peacefulness returned the man flipped onto the other side of his bed and expected a warm presence, but was surprised when it was not there.

Opening his eyes the other part of his bed meant for his partner was empty and cold, meaning she was gone for a while which shocked him. Usually he could feel when the bed shifted and would tell when she exited the bed.

Sitting up he looked back at the alarm clock and saw it read '7:30 AM'. It was time for him to head off to work but not for her. The perks of being an elementary school teacher slipped Sergeant James Davidsons mind as he threw his legs over the side of the bed and planted them on the cool wood floor. His wife Julia Davidson a very beautiful blonde haired woman was the kindergarten teacher for St. John Villa academy on Staten Island, New York.

Another important meaning to that job meant she was safe. James had plenty of enemies, both on the streets and on the job. Being the first Sergeant of SWAT for the 121st precinct came with plenty of threats from local crime mobs and they did not go warranted. He could handle himself, he was a big boy, very built and intimidating. What he is worried about though is his family, if anything happened to them James didn't know what he would do with his life.

He also obtained a few threats from his co-workers for coming in and taking the first Sergeant spot on the first day. James looked down at his chest and saw the dangling Dog tags. 83rd ODST division, he fought his ass off to protect his home world and came out with a few scratches here and there. Nonetheless he was a Human-Covenant war vet and the Captain of the 121st precinct gave him the spot of top man in his SWAT department.

Feeling his hand start to ache in pain he opened the drawer of the nightstand next to him and took out a bottle of prescription pills. Popping three of them into his mouth he swallowed them and felt the effects start to kick in. You know it was rather poetic, James fought the Covenant back, the Insurrectionists back and now he was fighting crime back. But he was getting beat back by something that could not be stopped, Arthritis.

Being 40 never felt so badly. His once luxurious brown hair was starting to thin out, he wasn't going bald yet. Then the Arthritis kicked in and James would give anything to go back in time and enjoy being young again, if only just for a little while.

Standing from the bed James started to get ready for his day. He put on a pair of dark black jeans and threw on a black t-shirt with white letters on the front reading 'UNSC'. What James loved most about his day was breakfast with his family and he could already smell the bacon from inside his room.

He took care of a few things in the bathroom before opening the door to his shared room. Standing in the kitchen was Julia, wearing one of his bigger t-shirts standing over the oven. Even with their combined salaries Julia and James only had enough money to afford a small 2 bedroom apartment, with a kitchenette and a decent sized living room. A living room which had a 70 inch plasma screen TV, a TV that was currently playing an episode of Sponge Bob Squarepants. Two little girls sitting in the futon together watching intently.

Maria and Lucy. 4 years old Maria looked almost identically like her mother and even had the same smarty attitude, always thinking she knows everything. But she was strong too, always protecting others on the jungle gym from bullies, which she got from her strong headed father. Then there was Lucy, at 3 years old you would never meet a shyer little girl even if you searched the entire planet. Even with her parents she said little words and at school you could forget about it. She is timid just like how her mother was when James first started to talk to her in high school, but both parents were sure she would overcome that.

Maria had her brown hair tied into a neat ponytail and Lucy had her blonde hair all a mess. "Well good morning everyone" James greeted his family. Maria and Lucy looked at their father and smiled, running at him they yelled "Happy birthday Daddy!"

He bent down and picked both of them up. They giggled at him and they both hugged him around the neck. James started to laugh and he looked at Julia to see her laughing as well. "Thank you for the birthday hugs you two".

Julia placed the pan down on the oven and walked over, plastering a fake pout on her face. "Hey you two" she said getting her daughters attention. They saw her pout on her face and started to giggle even more. "Daddy is mine, it's my turn to hug him" Julia said and crossed her arms like a spoiled little kid.

"No" Maria said and stuck her tongue out earning a giggle from her sister.

"Now, now Maria. Mommy is right sharing is caring," James kissed Maria on the forehead and placed both of his daughters on the floor. "Go and get dressed for school while I talk to mommy".

"Fine" Maria said reluctantly, "Come on Lucy". The two daughters walked slowly back into their shared rooms.

"They really love their daddy" Julia said as she got closer to James and placed a hand on his chest. James could feel the warmth coming from her hand and gently pressed his right hands palm to her cheek. He had the same effect on her and she pressed his palm harder to her cheek. "Happy birthday James".

She pressed a chaste kiss to his lips and they both smiled at each other, "I have a special surprise for your 40th birthday when you get home from work". James watched her eyes roam around his muscular body and she bit her lip in excitement.

"You know me Julia I never was a man that could wait to open his presents". James started slowly roll the bottom of her shirt up, he earned a small grin.

"Maybe I could give you a sneak peek" she said and just as they were going to kiss again James' work phone went off interrupting them. She threw her head down in frustration and James coughed before answering his phone. "Davidson".

"Sergeant they know where Violet is". It was the precinct Captain, Broyles.

"Where are we being deployed?" James asked and that earned a worried glance from Julia.

"Satellites show they're positioned in the factory district and surveillance confirms they are hiding in Factory B. I'm having the 122nd SWAT joint with yours, we don't know how many of them there are but the girl is not to be harmed. Understood?"

"Crystal sir, I'll be at the precinct in 10 minutes". James ended the call and looked at his wife who still looked worried.

"They found the kidnapped girl" he said and moved around his wife heading for the shoe rack by the door, he started to tie the laces of his tan colored boots and continued. "She is in the Factory district, they don't know how many of them there are but they are all armed, they're getting the 122nd to help out and." James stopped talking and looked up from tying his shoes, Julia had an understanding face on which confused him. He knew she hated when he went into any sort of combat especially after the war, so why was she ok with this right now.

"I understand" James stood up and she placed her hands in his, "I'm just going to say the same thing I say every time you leave, Just come back to me alive."

James nodded his head and was about to leave but was stopped. "You can't leave without saying good bye to Maria and Lucy".

'Damn it' James thought. "Alright go and get them but hurry up I have to get to the precinct ASAP".

Julia quickly walked into their daughter's room while James sat down on the couch. Playing with his ordinary flip phone he decided to watch the morning news. Changing the channel he saw that CNN was about to start and tuned in.

"Welcome to another CNN. My name is Evan Holmes and with me as always is my partner in crime Kayla Wandelt. It is another beautiful day here on April 7th, 2560. We have a jam packed session today and we will start off with what is transpiring in Cape Town, South Africa". James felt intrigued and turned the volume up slightly.

"We will go to our correspondent in the field, who is in Cape Town, Audrey Bitoni". The screen switched to a rather gorgeous looking brunette, she was wearing a white t-shirt that hung a little too low and felt happy about the lowering of National TV's censoring.

"Yes Evan and all I could say at the moment is it is a mystery. The United Nations Space Command and the CDC have been keeping things under tight wraps and this reporter has personally believed that this disease that has been encountered has never been encountered before." James felt on the edge of his seat as the reporter turned slightly and James was able to see Marines with DMR's wearing HAZMAT suits.

"World renowned Doctor Jenner of the CDC is on the scene along with Dr. Bridges of the World Health Organization. They have not replied to any of this reporters' questions and had the security detail escort everyone about-"

Two gunshots were heard in the background as all of the reporters, the Marines and even James started to wonder what the hell was going on. "Audrey were those gun shots?"

"Evan I do believe those were gunshots and it sounded to me that it came from the infected apartment". Audrey waved the camera over and she moved to the front of the mob, stopping in front one of the Marines. "Hey you have to let us through, the world has to know what is going on here".

"Listen lady no one is getting through here, orders are orders". James felt his heart beat faster when five more gunshots were heard over the landscape, followed by something that made the reporters go nuts. "Man down, Man down!"

James felt a chill run through his veins as the reporters asked what in the hell was going on. "Lopez, Baker find out what the hell is going on". Two Marines left the barricade and ran backwards out of the camera shot.

The channel changed snapping James out of his trance and he saw Maria and Lucy standing in front of him. He smiled and bid them both good bye and to have fun at preschool. James stood from the couch and kissed Julia.

"Is everything alright?"

James faked a smile, "yes everything is great, have a great day at work I will see you tonight".

Julia didn't believe his fake smile at all, but she knew what type of person James was. If he had something on his mind it was near impossible to pry it out of him. You had to let him express it when he was ready and Julia would wait until that time came.

James exited his apartment and walked towards the exit, the perk of living on the first floor of the apartment complex. He put on a pair of sunglasses and walked out into the morning air, he had to get focused for this breaching of the factory. However it was rather difficult all he could think about what in the God's name was happening in Cape Town. Marine presence was rare these days especially after the peace treaty with the other alien races.

Taking out his car keys James unlocked the driver's side to his Black Escalade and hopped in. Violet needed his help to be freed and he wouldn't keep that teenage girl away from her family for any longer. He told himself as he checked for any oncoming cars before pulling away from the curb, heading towards the precinct.


	2. The Beginning Part II

**A/N: I hope you enjoyed the first chapter and I have decided how to ultimately update each chapter from now on. I will update once, maybe twice a week and each chapter will only focus on the actions of one of the characters. So this chapter will focus on Dr. Jenner and the one next week will follow Sergeant James Davidson. As always enjoy, read and especially review its one of my favorite parts of this site. Also the guest that reviewed about Audrey Bitoni you clever soul.**

The hot and humid afternoon was almost over, the sun was going down and already the unforgivable winds that stretched through the cold nights were already starting. It was almost dinner time and it was around this time that Zanzu found himself digging through his homemade crops. Consisting of a few Carrot seeds, some grain and lettuce.

Unfortunately his choice to go the all-natural route wasn't turning out as he planned. He came to that conclusion finally as he pulled up another carrot from the ground to see it green and un-edible. He shook his head in utter disgust and felt sweat trickle down his brow. Zanzu threw the carrot to the ground and wiped the sweat off, watching it trickle down his light brown skin.

'Another night of take out' Zanzu thought to himself as he picked up his hoe and rested it over his shoulder. He didn't understand the slightest the seeds looked in the best condition when he picked them up about a week and a half ago. It's like the soil is contaminated or something, 'maybe I should move the garden to a different spot in the backyard' he mused as he gandered around his decent sized yard.

A vivacious laugh caught the older man's attention and brought a smile to his face when he looked at his pride and joy. A young girl sat at a pink circular table, dressed as a princess. She held a small pink cup in her hand, the contents of the cup held the so called 'tea' while 8 other chairs sitting at the table were filled with various stuffed animals.

"Daddy" the young girl called out, "hurry up you're missing all the fun". She placed another sugar cube into the pink elephants cup. Followed by a warning to the elephant that too much sugar was bad for him.

"Alright Lara how about I join you right now, I think we are going to have pizza tonight" he said the last part more to himself as he eyed his garden.

"In those?" Lara started to eye her father up and down. When she was finished Lara shook her head in utter disapproval. "You can't wear that to a tea party".

Zanzu looked confusedly at his 6 year old daughter before looking down at his clothes, he grimaced and silently agreed with his daughter. His white tank top was completely covered in dirt and the life juices of a few carrots that he crushed in frustration. Then he looked at the holes in his jeans and just laughed.

"You're right Lara, daddy is a mess. I'll head inside get dressed and-"Zanzu cut himself off as he heard a slight shriek. He looked around the sky first to see if it was a bird, then shrugged when he found the skies clear. He was about to shrug the noise off but it happened again and this time it was a lot louder. The two covered their ears as the scream they heard was destroying their ear drums, Zanzu wanted to scream out in pain so badly but his lungs couldn't find the air to do so.

Just as he was about to pass out the shrieking stopped, immediately followed by the sound of wood snapping? Zanzu re focused his eyes and quickly looked to Lara to see her panting heavily on the grass, her eyes open wide and a small amount of blood dribbled down the side of her face. "Lara!" he yelled.

He picked her up after forcing his legs to move forwards and placed her back down on the seat she was just sitting in. "Baby can you hear me? Are you alright?"

"Daddy" she answered groggily a few seconds later. With a relieved smile he hugged her little princess and yet again the sound of wood breaking brought him back to reality. Zanzu turned around and looked to the back corner of his fence that connected his backyard to his neighbor's yard. Part of the fence was smashed open and in the middle of the fence parts was a single female. She was only wearing a white baggy t-shirt with matching white panties, the creamy coloring of the shirts matched her white skin.

Her eyes were soulless and she was trying to break through his fence, growling and biting at him and his daughter. Enough was enough.

Zanzu picked his hoe off the floor and knew it was time to confront the mystery lady. "Hey lady!" he called out as he walked protectively in front of Lara. "What the hell do you think you are doing? If you don't stop threatening me and my daughter I won't hold back".

Either the crazy lady didn't hear what he said or she just chose to ignore him because she broke off another piece of the fence, this time with her teeth. Only a single piece of wood was keeping her out of his yard. "I'm calling the police you psycho bitch".

Zanzu picked up his daughter and walked into his house through the sliding glass door. He locked the door behind him and walked into the kitchen. "Stay right there and don't move" he ordered Lara as he placed her in one of the chairs at the dinner table.

Zanzu placed his only means of defense, the hoe. On the counter top and picked up the home telephone. Quickly he pressed the buttons and it took two rings for the person on the other side to answer. "Cape Town police. What is your situation" the man on the receiving call answered rather dully, like Zanzu was interrupting something more important.

"Yes my name is Zanzu Bello of 1201 UNSC boulevard and there is this random women trying to break into my home and possibly attack me and my daughter." He walked over to a window next to his refrigerator and parted the blinds to see the crazy women still trying to break through the last piece of fence.

"Alright sir we will send a unit over to apprehend her and-"

"Daddy!"

With incredible speed Zanzu turned back to the table and saw Lara was missing. "Hold on officer" he said into the phone and grabbed the hoe from the counter. "Lara!" he yelled back and walked into the living room to see his daughter standing idly in front of the sliding door.

Zanzu felt his heart skip a beat at what he saw, it took all of his willpower not to drop the phone. He heard someone talking in the background as he continued to stare, sweat was coming out of every inch of his body. A slight pain in his chest gave him the signal to intake some oxygen. He realized that it was coming from his phone and he put the phone back to his ear.

"Something is wrong with her".

"Sir what is wrong? Tell me now, the unit will be there on the double. Sir?"

Standing proudly on the other side of the glass door was a 6ft woman with dirty blonde hair. That wasn't the weird part, despite only wearing panties. No the part that had him searching for more air was the skin, her pale skin looked to have been mostly peeled off her body and replaced by some sort of green skin. Then the lumps, one covered her right hip and the other was on her left shoulder.

"I think she is sick, I can't explain it there are these things all over her body".

Silence met his ears which was the last thing he wanted to hear. Zanzu absent mindedly grabbed Lara's shoulders and moved her behind him. Curious she moved her face slowly around her father's leg, continuing to stare at the woman.

"Sir you cannot let that woman in your house, she could be one of the infected with the new deadly virus". Zanzu noticed something change in the infected women's eyes and it was almost like he heard the officer say to keep her out. With a sudden charge forward she smashed her shoulder into the glass and created a large crack.

'She's breaking in!" he yelled and jumped when she rammed into the door again making the glass crack more all around. Zanzu knew what one more ram was going to do and yelled into the phone, "She broke through".

He dropped the phone and picked up Lara in one hand and his hoe in the other. Running away from the door he heard a shatter followed by the footsteps. He chanced a look behind him as he ran through his hallway and saw her tailing him, she definitely had speed on her side. Zanzu crossed through a threshold connecting the hallway to the front door and closed the door right in her face.

The sound of a door opening made Zanzu jump and he turned to see his wife standing in the doorway. She was dressed in a black tuxedo due to her being one of the major head bosses at an accounting firm downtown. "What is going on?" she asked and jumped in fright when the door behind her husband and daughter thrashed.

"Get upstairs now and hide in our room, I'll try to hold the thing off. Take Lara." Zanzu handed his wife their daughter and hoped that his wife would just listen, but no.

"Zanzu what is going on?" she asked visibly frightened.

"I don't know" he answered honestly as he brought his weapon up. "This women broke through our back fence and then she rammed her shoulder through the glass sliding door. She didn't even look fazed by the shards of glass in her shoulder and chased us."

The door busted open and the infected woman broke through. "Tiana go!" he yelled with urgency in his voice. Tiana saw the condition the woman in question was in and this time didn't fight him about it as she ran upstairs with Lara.

The infected jumped forward at an incredible speed. Not fast enough. Zanzu held out his hoe, the chest of the infected landing on the metal bar. He was holding her body back as her face tried to lurch forward and bite him!

Zanzu felt his arms to shake at the over powering weight, the infected was slowly gaining ground against his pushing. With unknown strength Zanzu used the right side of his hoe to push her back, which successfully made it stagger backwards at the unexpected shift. Then with a great speed and force Zanzu delivered a powerful kick to its chest. A blow that would have killed most people but this merely made the infected stagger backwards farther giving Zanzu time to get his ass up the stairs.

It didn't take long for the infected to follow him up the stairs. Zanzu yet again felt his heart lurch when he just barely shut the door before the infected ran into his bedroom. He put his back up to the door and knew there was nothing in the room to bar the door with. Looking at the bed he saw Tiana and Lara laying under the bed, hands over their mouths trying to stay calm.

The wood door was starting to give out on him. "Don't come out for anything you two" he said to them. It all happened too fast for Zanzu to think about anything. A part of the wood door burst opened and he felt pressure around his neck as an arm was currently chocking him from the hole in the door. He could feel the hot breath of the infected get closer to his neck as another hit jarred him away from the door.

With exceptional reaction time Zanzu spun around and faced the door. He put his arms out and used the hoe to try and block the door. The infected rammed the door two more times and was completely fed up now. It emitted a blood curdling shriek before ramming the door with enough force to move a freight truck a few feet. Zanzu was thrown off the door followed by the door swinging open. He got in a ready stance as it ran through the open door. He swung the sharp side of the hoe and immediately regretted the action.

The infected ducked under the blow and tackled Zanzu into the wall, almost instantly sinking its teeth into his neck. Zanzu screamed and wailed as the infected woman ate out his throat, trying desperately to throw it off of him.

Tiana and Lara watched in horror and tried their hardest to keep their breathing under control. They were watching the infected eat their dad and husband, helpless. Zanzu no longer thrashed only sat there motionless.

"Contact!"

The infected stopped biting and quickly jumped to its feet turning to the door. Tiana and Lara covered their ears as Weapons opened fire on the infected, dozens of bullets making contact with its body before it dropped to the floor. Lara took that as a sign and crawled out from under the bed. Tiana followed in suite but before she could get a few inches new people ran in.

"Don't move, don't move" two UNSC ODST troopers ordered them as they pointed their rifles in their faces. "Clear!" one of the called out and a second later two white men dressed in doctor scrubs walked in. One looked to be in his mid-Fifties and his blue doctor scrubs were covered in a mixture of blood and other substances. The second was a lot younger more like early-Thirties, his white scrubs were perfectly clean.

Dr. Jenner's kneeled down in front of the infected woman that was neutralized and nodded in approval at the hole in its forehead, this time it really was dead. "Oh Brittney" Dr. Bridges commented as he watched Jenner's continue on to the African American Male.

He checked for a pulse and felt nothing. "Is he alive?" Jenner's looked over to the African American female and young daughter holding their hands up, clearly scared of the ODST's and worried for what Jenner's assumed was the Father.

"I'm sorry" Jenner's commented flatly as he stood from the ground. In one fluid motion he pulled out his M6D and fired off a single round into the man's forehead.

"No!" the wife screamed as she jumped forward but a firm gloved hand stopped her advance rather swiftly. "What is going on? Why did you shoot my husband's corps? Why did that infected woman ea… eat m-my husband?" she could barely get that last part out before the little girl burst out crying into her mother's leg, wanting nothing more than her daddy.

Dr. Bridges looked at Jenner's furiously for shooting the fathers body so coldly in front of his family. Jenner's put a hand on the Captains shoulder and motioned his head backwards. The ODST nodded and backed off slightly. "I am truly sorry" Bridges and the ODST's were shocked to hear that word come out of the cold hearted CDC Doctor. "I wish I could tell you what has happened to that woman and why she murdered your husband so brutally. What we do know I cannot unfortunately tell you, it's classified to the UNSC and the CDC". The woman started to cry into the hands and with another unexpected move Jenner's placed a comforting hand on her shoulder which got her to look up from her palms. "I will not let your husband's death go in vain. I promise to find out what is happening and stop it".

The air in the room seemed too thin as everyone stared at the Doctor. "What am I supposed to tell our friends, neighbors and especially my parents?"

"I'm sorry but I'm going to need your cooperation mam. I can't let the world know of this, I need you to lie to them and make up a cover story". Jenner's felt heat travel up his body as the woman stared intently at him, he couldn't afford the population to know of this yet. There would be mass panic, looting and destruction of cities.

So you could imagine the breath he exhaled to fully calm his nerves down. "Fine, done".

Jenner's looked back at Dr. Bridges and saw the man give him an approving nod followed by a thumbs up. "Would you like help burying your husband mam?" Private Deangelo asked as he stepped forward from behind his Captain.

"Thank you, I would" she replied rather depressed. Those were words she was hoping to never hear or at least not hear for years to come. The two ODST's carried the body of Zanzu out into the backyard while Jenner's and Bridges stayed in the bedroom, looking at the decomposing body of Brittney. "All of the people I buried have been terminated" Bridges leaned down and closed the open eyelids of Brittney, finally putting her to rest. "We still have 20 infected persons back at the apartment, what are we going to do about them."

"The only thing we can do at this point" Jenner's said while fiddling with his M6D. He was still working on trying to reload the weapon, this being the first time he ever used his required fire arm. "We are the only two people allowed in that building from now on. We try to find the cure and if any of them die we have to put a bullet in their foreheads before they turn into those monsters."

"This is intense" Bridges commented before sitting down on the bed. He felt the comfy sheets brush against his sides causing his eyelids to drop slightly. He hadn't slept in about two days, the patients needing his constant attention 24/7.

"Agreed" Jenner's holstered his pistol and headed for the bedrooms exit. "We need to get back to the tent and get started on analyzing the blood samples I took, I believe it is also time for my report to my superiors". He added the report more to himself and knew that his superior was not going to like this at all.

**(Scene break)**

There was many ways people have been transported to the white house in the past decades. Each of those methods of transportation were only used during social gatherings or if there was a rather large problem. Telling by the logo on the side of the red Falcon when it landed a top the White House signaled that the occupant inside was not coming over for the common two martini lunch convo. A single men that looked to be of Middle Eastern decent jumped out the side of the Falcon. He had a rough looking beard and was dressed in a nice Italian style suit with black pants to match.

His taste of fashion wasn't the important problem though. In his gripped right hand was a data pad, a security lock easily plastered on the screen. Almost immediately a Secret Service agent walked up to him. They exchanged a few words which were rather muffled over the sound of the Falcons rotors. After a minute of exchanges the agent led him inside the White House.

They walked through the halls with haste and silence, there was definitely roaming eyes though. Even though he is on important business he couldn't help but take in his surroundings. Not many people in history could say they had been inside the white house, now he had that unique privilege.

The hallway he walked through intersected and they made a left which led to a pair of double doors. Two Secret Service Agents stood at guard outside and with a look at identification the muscle improved man grunted in confirmation, "Alright, Serkan Erdogan. Congratulations on being the new department leader for the CDC."

"Thank you" Serkan replied while fixing his glasses from sliding downwards.

"You may enter President Roland and Defense Secretary Paul Murphy Russel are waiting for you". Serkan nodded in approval and gripped his data pad tighter, prepared to deliver this news to the two most powerful men in the Unites States.

He pushed the double doors opened and took in his surroundings. The President's office, probably the most seen part of the White house. The wooden desk sat proudly in the back of the office, while two long couches were placed in the middle. The United States Seal separated the blue couches. Sitting in the couch on the right was Defense Secretary Paul Murphy Russel, he was dressed in his favorite blue suit with a black tie and black dress pants. A 5'oclock shadow clearly growing on his face that went along with his short brown hair.

Sitting in the couch on the left was President Roland. A very slim man with freckles that covered his face, his red hair was gelled back as usual. He was wearing his black suit with his red tie and black pants. The man was still in his 1st term, 1 year into it and Serkan was about to drop a bombshell on this man. A bombshell that might sink his presidency, the United States and possibly the whole planet.

"Mr. President" Serkan walked forward solemnly and held out the data pad when he was within arm's length. "We have a big problem".


End file.
